[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8104-8105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03045]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[145A2100DD AAK4000000 A0R9B0000.999900]


Renewal of Agency Information Collection for Probate of Indian 
Estates

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of submission to OMB.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is submitting to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request for renewal for the collection of 
information titled ``Probate of Indian Estates, Except for Members of 
the Osage Nation and the Five Civilized Tribes.'' The information 
collection is currently authorized by OMB Control Number 1076-0169, 
which expires February 28, 2015.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 16, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the information collection to the 
Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at the Office of 
Management and Budget, by facsimile to (202) 395-5806 or you may send 
an email to: [email protected]. Please send a copy of your 
comments to Charlene Toledo, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Trust 
Services, Division of Probate Services 2600 N Central Ave STE MS 102, 
Phoenix, AZ 85004: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charlene Toledo, (505) 563-3371. You 
may review the information collection request online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the 
Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Secretary of the Interior probates the estates of individual 
Indians owning trust or restricted property in accordance with 25 
U.S.C. 372-373. In order to compile the probate file, the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs (BIA) must obtain information regarding the deceased 
from individuals and the tribe. This request for renewal makes 
adjustments to reflect the accurate number of respondents. As a result, 
the estimated burden hours has increased from 1,037,493 to 1,037,513 
hours. No other changes were made to the information collection.

II. Request for Comments

    On October 28, 2014, the BIA published a notice announcing the 
renewal of this information collection and provided a 60-day comment 
period in the Federal Register (79 FR 64210). The BIA received one 
comment in response to this notice. The commenter expressed 
disagreement with the application of the Act of August 4, 1947, 61 
Stat. 731, and proposed repealing of the 1947 Act would reduce the 
burden in collecting information for probate of restricted land. 
However, the data for this information collection is collected under 25 
U.S.C. 372-373, which does not apply to members of the Five Civilized 
Tribes. Therefore, no changes

[[Page 8105]]

were made to this information collection.
    The BIA requests your comments on this collection concerning: (a) 
The necessity of this information collection for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden (hours and cost) of the collection of information, including 
the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) Ways we could 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (d) Ways we could minimize the burden of the collection 
of the information on the respondents.
    Please note that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
has a valid OMB Control Number.
    It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for 
review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section. Before 
including your address, phone number, email address or other personally 
identifiable information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1076-0169.
    Title: Probate of Indian Estates, Except for Members of the Osage 
Nation and Five Civilized Tribes.
    Brief Description of Collection: This part contains the procedures 
that the Secretary of the Interior follows to initiate the probate of 
the trust estate for a deceased person who owns an interest in trust or 
restricted property. The Secretary must perform the information 
collection requests in this part to obtain the information necessary to 
compile an accurate and complete probate file. This file will be 
forwarded to the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) for disposition. 
Responses to these information collection requests are required to 
create a probate file for the decedent's estate so that OHA can 
determine the heirs of the decedent and order distribution of the trust 
assets in the decedent's estate. A response is required to obtain or 
retain a benefit.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents: Indians, businesses, and tribal authorities.
    Number of Respondents: 65,751.
    Frequency of Response: One per respondent each year with the 
exception of tribes that may be required to provide enrollment 
information on an average of approximately 10 times/year.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 76,695.
    Estimated Time per Response: Ranges from 0.5 hours to 45.5 hours 
(see table below).

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                                                                    Number of
            CFR Section                  Description of info      responses per     Hours per      Total burden
                                       collection requirement          yr            response          hours
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15.9...............................  File affidavit to self-              1,000              0.5             500
                                      prove will, codicil, or
                                      revocation.
15.9...............................  File supporting affidavit            2,000              0.5           1,000
                                      to self-prove will,
                                      codicil, or revocation.
15.104.............................  Reporting req.-death                 5,850              5            29,250
                                      certificate.
15.105.............................  Provide probate documents.          21,235             45.5         966,193
15.203.............................  Provide tribal information           5,660              2            11,320
                                      for probate file.
15.301.............................  Reporting funeral expenses           5,850              2            11,700
15.305.............................  Provide info on creditor            35,100              0.5          17,550
                                      claim (6 per probate).
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
    Total..........................  ..........................          76,695  ...............       1,037,513
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    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 1,037,513.
    Estimated Total Annual Non-Hour Dollar Cost: $0.

    Dated: February 10, 2015.
Elizabeth K. Appel,
Director, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action--Indian 
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015-03045 Filed 2-12-15; 8:45 am]
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